This invention relates to firearm safety devices. In particular, this invention relates to devices for preventing accidental discharge of firearms and for preventing unauthorized use of firearms.
Each year many deaths occur from accidental discharge of firearms or the discharge of firearms by children or others who are not trained in the safe use of firearms. Many of these deaths occur when a loaded weapon is left unattended in a place accessible to children and others.
Considerable publicity has been given to the need for locking devices to prevent the accidental firing of a gun. Trigger locks, for example, are available, but trigger locks are not always effective in preventing the discharge of a gun.
The prior art discloses devices extending into or through the barrel of the gun to prevent discharge. For example, Knopp, U.S. Pat. No. 4,023,294, and Thurber, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,569,144 and 4,783,924 disclose devices of this type in which particular manipulations are necessary to prepare the weapon to receive a round and to be discharged.
The present invention is a firearm lock mechanism that prevents the chambering of a round of ammunition in a firearm and a positive lock that provides protection against the use of a weapon equipped with the firearm lock of this invention.
The present invention is a firearm safety device to prevent the firing of a firearm having a barrel. In one embodiment, the invention comprises a rod having distal and proximal ends configured and constructed to extend into the barrel of a firearm such that the proximal end of the rod is positioned to prevent the chambering of a round of ammunition and lock engaging means on the distal end of the rod.
In another embodiment, the invention comprises a rod having distal and proximal ends configured and constructed to extend into the barrel of a firearm and lock engaging means on the distal end of the rod for being engaged by a removable lock for preventing the removal of the rod from the barrel.
In use the invention comprises the combination of a firearm having a barrel proximate the distal end and a rod having distal and proximal ends configured and constructed to extend into the barrel of a firearm and lock means on the distal end of the rod for being engaged by a removable lock for preventing the removal of the rod from the barrel.